Spring's on 'a good schedule,' last month's statistics show

Rod Tinnemore seized the opportunity yesterday to throw open the windows of his office at the Washington State University Extension Center in Puyallup and enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and new blossoms on the trees outside.

The early days of spring so far have been warmer and dryer than usual. Monday, the mercury rose higher in the greater Puget Sound area than for any March day on record.

But Tinnemore, state coordinator for the Washington Master Gardener Program, said the pleasant temperatures have only encouraged Mother Nature's perennial spring plans.

And people who watch the mountain snowpack for signs of impending water shortages said that despite a string of warm, dry days, there's no worry yet of a summer water shortage.

In other words, we're enjoying a fairly typical springtime on Puget Sound.

"Funny thing about spring, it usually keeps a pretty good schedule," Tinnemore said. "We're on the cusp of seeing things just burst. Spring is finally on its way."

March weather data from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport show that the Seattle area got about 1.62 fewer inches of rain than normal. Daily average temperatures were more than 1 degree above normal.

The state capital was drier and warmer. Olympia got 2.44 fewer inches of rain than usual, and days averaged 2.4 degrees warmer than normal.

February was also warmer and drier than normal.

But two months of below-average moisture haven't meant much to the mountain snow, which will melt into the region's water supply come summer.

Overall, Seattle has gotten about 2 inches less precipitation than normal since Jan.1, but water-supply watchers measure a "rain year" beginning Oct. 1. And by that measure, Seattle is 2.76 inches ahead of the norm.

The snowpack in the Cedar River watershed, where Seattle gets two-thirds of its water, is 87 percent of average, Seattle Public Utilities officials said yesterday.

That's not an alarming shortfall. And to help, the snowpack in the Tolt River watershed, where Seattle siphons off the other one-third of its water, is 106 percent of normal.

The Cedar River reservoir, Chester Morse Lake, was 2.8 feet below average yesterday. The South Fork Tolt reservoir was 6 inches below average.

"Both are exactly where we want them this time of year," said George Schneider, Seattle's water-resource manager.

"We're looking really good. We're going to have full reservoirs to start the summer."

April will start out dry, said Jay Neher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. It isn't expected to rain until Tuesday, he said.

Tinnemore said now is a good time to start planning and planting flower beds, while you can still beat the May rush to the nurseries and get a good selection of annuals and vegetable starts.

And even though April showers are coming, "it's time to get out there and weed."

Ian Ith: 206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com